Aeroplane.



L. DAN.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 1912. lg Patented Nov. 19, 1912.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

bwa j INI/ENTOH argl/5% A TTUR/VEY L. DAN.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JULYa, 1912.

1,044,997. Patented Nov. 19, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WIT/VESSES:

@GJM my am. M i y yggg A TTOHNEY L. DAN.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 8, 1912 1,044,997. A y Patent-ed Nov. 19, 1912.

3 SHEBTSSHEET 3.

WIT/VESSES:

Erg J0.

LONG DAN, 0F PORTLAND, OREGON.

AEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 19, 1912.

Application led July 8, 1912. Serial No. 708,390.

To all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, LONG DAN, a citizen of the Republic of China, and `aresident of Portland, county of Multnomah, State of Oregon, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Aeroplanes, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to aeroplanes of the single or monoplane type, inwhich the main plane is shaped to form a modified dihedralangle and oneof the main object-s of this 1nvention is to provide protection in caseof the failure of the propelling power.

A further object of my invention is to simplify the balance control, andprovide integral, longitudinal and lateral balancing means; and it isalso the object of my invention to so construct the framework of theplanes as to give maximum rigidity with minimum weight.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of myaeroplane as it appears in flight; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of thefabric cabin of my aeroplane, showing the doors opened; Fig. 3 is aperspective view of one of the joints between .the ribs and crosspiecesof the wing; Fig. 4 is a section of a rib showing the cross-piece andloop for the guy wire; Fig. 5 is aplan view of my aeroplane; Fig. 6 is afront elevation; Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are rear elevations, and Fig. 10 is aside elevation of the tail plane.

My aeroplane comprises a body, a, and main plane b, two wing planes cand d, a movable tail plane e, and an elevating plane When on the groundthe body, a, is supported on wheel trucks, g, g, and springs, as h, h,are interposed between the trucks g and the body a. Access is had to thedeck, z', by means of rope ladders j, j.

Centrally located on the deck, z', is a cabin lo, constructed of fabricsupported by a frame m. The cabin k is provided with closable entrancesor doors 0. The covers, p, of such entrances are actuated by cords q,running over suitable pulley wheels r. Beneath the deck of the cabin 7care a plurality of hinged doors, s, s, made of fabric stretched onsuitable frames, which may swing down, as shown in dotted lines in Fig.6, in thedirection indicated by the arrows. When the doors, s, s, areopened and the doors p are closed, the cabin 7c forms a parachute whichwill tend to retard theI too rapid drop of the aeroplane should theengine stop; and when in motion the doors, s, form .fastened to thespools t and to the part operated thereby, as at f in Fig. 1, the otherrope connections being omitted for clearness. The propellers lv aremounted at the rear of the deck z' and are driven by any' suitableengine, not shown.

The side wings, c and 0l, are made of fabric and stretched on a framecomprising ribs 2, crosspieces 3 and the fabric being secured thereto bystrips 4.y The wings are attached to the body, a, by the ribs 2 whichextend through the side members of the main plane b and are anchored inthe upper members of the cabin frame m. The wings, c and d, are furtherbraced by the guy wires 5, each wire having one or more lateral stays 6.Said wires are attached to the body as at the deck line and both wiresand stays are made fast to the wings by means of the loop 7, shown inFigs. 3 and 4. Said loop 7 is pendent from a plate 8 beneath thecrosspiece 3. The plate 8 forms a portion of the joint between the ribs2 and crosspiece 3, the joint being completed by an inverted U-shapedstrap 9 passing over the rib 2; the strap 9 and plate 8 being fastenedthrough the crosspiece by the pins 10. A pin 11 passing through thestrip 4, fabric 1, strap 9, rib 2, crosspiece 3 and plate 8 binds thewhole together; and similar pins, 12, 12, passing through the strip 4,fabric 1, and rib 2, retain the fabric in place. A plurality of similarstrips 14 retain the fabric of the main plane in place.

The tail plane, e, is hinged to the rear end of the main plane b andsupported partly by a strut 15 and partly by the cords, 16, 17, seeFigs. 7, 8, 9 and 10. The strut 15 is held rigidly in place by the guywires 18 which extend from the projecting end of the strut to the frame19. A series of pulleywheels 20 mounted on said frame 19 support thecontrol cords 16, 17, and the latter are made fast to the side members21, 22 of the plane e, being actuated by the hand wheels, u, of thespools t, see Figs. 1 and 6.

When positioned as shown in Fig. 7, the outer ends of the side members21 and 22 have been lowered by drawing in the lower cords and lettingout the upper cords, and the tail plane tends to elevate the rear of theaeroplane. When positioned as shown in dotted lines, the outer ends oftheside members 21 and 22 have been elevated by drawing in on the uppercords, thus the tail plane tends to depress the rear of the aeroplane.The above described positions are assumed when maintaining thelongitudinal equilibrium, and when changing altitude, as by depressingthe tail plane the bow is raised and the aeroplane climbs to a higherlevel.

When positioned as shown in Fig. 8, the left side tends to elevate andthe right side tends to depress, thus without affecting the longitudinalbalance, tilting the aeroplane to one side. This position is assumed byraising the side member 22 and lowering the side member 21, and whenreversed the tendency will be to tilt to the other side, thuscontrolling the lateral balance, and incidentally assisting the rudder.

When both lateral and longitudinal balance is to'be efected at the sametime, only one side of the tail plane e is actuated. Thus, as shown inFig. 9, the side member 22 is lowered by paying out on the upper anddrawing in on the lower cord, with the effect of raising the rear andright side of the aeroplane. By reversing the movement of the cord 17,the rear and right side will both be depressed, and a similar ei'ect isbrought about on the other side by actuating the cord 16.

I claim:

1. In an aeroplane, in combination with the main plane, an adjustabletail plane, hinged to the rear of the main plane, comprising a frame andtwo movable sections, divided longitudinally by a rigid frame member,the outer edges of each section beingv independently movable, and qordsattachedv to each section, whereby when either sect-ion is movedindependently both the lateral and longitudinal balance will beaffected, when both sections are moved in the same direction thelongitudinal balance only will be affected, and when both sections aremoved in opposite directions the lateral balance only will be affected.

2. In an aeroplane, in combination with the deck, a safety devicecomprising a frame and fabric covering the frame, thereby inclosing aspace on the deck, closable entrances in the sides of the fabricinclosure, andI doors in the deck within said fabric inclosure, wherebywhen the doors are opened the aeroplane is transformed into a parachute.

3. In an aeroplane, wings extending diagonally, upwardly and outwardly,thence hori zontally outward from the main plane and comprising a frameconsisting of ribs and crosspieces, a fabric covering such frame andstrips fastened through the fabric to the ribs, the whole clampedtogether at the joint formed bythe intersecting ribs and crosspieces bytwo plates and a series of pins, one plate provided with a pendent loopadapted to hold the guy wire.

LONG DAN.

Witnesses:

CEoiL LONG, W. LEWIS CooP.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner ot Patents, Washington, D. C.

